I remember when i was in "Line Training" at ENY Depot,and the first 3 Blitz Buses arrived from Jackie Gleason Depot in August of 1991.They were the 5525,5526 and 5527.The Drivers at ENY were shocked to see these,as they had just gotten rid of the last of the 9000 series Flxibles not too long before.Of these particular 3 buses,the 5526 lasted at ENY the longest,and was one of the last Blitz buses in service out of ENY.I really liked the Blitz buses,they were fun to drive(ENY's 5107 was my favorite!She had a RTS steering wheel,which was a bit thinner and easier to grip than the thicker Blitz steering wheel)I still think of my days there at ENY with some really great memories...

I was able to drive all three of them,but for some reason i only drove the 5525 just once.I believe the 5527 may have gone to M.S.B.A. for a while before being retired.I drove the 5526 many times while it was ENY.I do miss the Blitz Buses...

I remember all three of them well. 5527 rarely showed up on the B9 for me but 5526 was common from 9/90 - 6/91 and 5525 was the bus I rode in August 1990 to test the ride from home out to Bay Ridge. I miss them too, they were fine buses and had a good deal of life in them. I believe they could still be running the streets today based on how well they ran and how seemingly reliable they were.

thanks bill. i was at yukon in 6/91 and you are right on the money. the only thing- in june 91 we just statrted receiving 8000 series; only had 8291 and 8298. i should know as i drove 8291 on its maiden voyage. we got 8280-8315 i believe and the balance went to castleton.

Re: NYCTA Bus Roster 1/1/76

Funny how at that point all of the remaining 1962 Fishbowls were at the three Queens depots.

Having perused all previous rosters in this thread, it's also interesting to note that the Queens depots never used Batwings or '69 Flxibles. Whenever I happened to be near the B58 Flushing terminal, or along Jamaica Avenue in downtown Jamaica, it felt strange to see them in Queens. I was used to seeing Batwings in Manhattan, or viewed from elevated trains in the Bronx.

Conversely, Queens must have LOVED the 5600-series 1966 Flxibles. The 1973 rosters reinforces my memory of almost always getting one whenever riding the Q16 to and from the subway.

It's hard to imagine FLU running RTS, since I hardly ever rode buses from about 1983-97. Then the free bus-subway Metrocard transfer and unlimited Metrocard came along.

If only there had been an unlimited Metrocard in '91. Having ridden nothing but diesel O5s on CS routes from '99 through '07, it would have been nice have ridden RTS. And I wasn't even aware the Blitzes were still running by then, let alone in Queens.

The 4500s lasted at JAM till at least '03, and the 8300s even longer at QV.

Re: NYCTA Bus Roster 1/1/76

"...it's also interesting to note that the Queens depots never used Batwings or '69 Flxibles."

Actually, Howard, batwings were originally assigned to the two Queens depots, FLU and JAM when they were originally delivered. 8001-8040 FLU, 8041-8080 JAM. Then around the very early 80's, QV received several 8100's for a short time, probably from FLA. FLU also had some 8800's used on the X51 and the Q44VP. I wonder if Queens lost the 8000 series batwings during 1971 because there were more trees in Queens and the batwings would be prone to damage?

Queens also had a few 1969 Flxibles later in their service. JAM had 4045, I think. I had seen a couple of MABSTOA 4600's at FLU also.

Thanks again for the rosters. These are very awesome to read. Just two questions...the first is do you have a MaBSTOA Bus Roster from 1976 to go along with this? Second, you have "Staten Island" listed. Would that be Castleton? Just asking. Thanks again for your hard work.

Yes, I believe the only Staten Island facility at the time was Castleton which did maintance as well. However, there may have been other facilities for simple storage, like Edgewater, in which I do not know the specific years of its' operation.

This is NOT as complete as what "Bill from Maspeth" had posted with the FULL rosters but at least this "list" would give you somewhat of a start. Here's a "list" of Flxibles in service from the early 1990s:

I remember 9010 was at Gun Hill at one point (probably '90, '91, or '92). I also remember seeing that same bus in Queens once while riding the Q44 in the late '80's. I don't remember what route it was signed up as, but it was going along Jamaica Ave. in the direction of the abandoned Jamaica El structure about to be torn down.

Hey Bill thanks for the 3 rosters and quick question when did they open and close and where was Crosstown and xt depot at?
Also what happend to 54th?
I'm suprised at was around when i was born in 09/90 to 97 and for the most part i mostly rember RTS and Orion V's.

The Crosstown Depot is located at 65 Commercial Street in the neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It was open in July 1949 as the Crosstown Trolley Coach and Car Depot to serve 78 trolley coaches and 60 trolley cars. The depot hold 120 buses at capacity. At one time, it operated ten lines: B18, B24, B29, B30, B39, B48, B59, B60, B61 and B62. The depot operations ended on November 7, 1981 because of service reductions and operating cost. It is converted to paint shop and road service operations.

54th Street Depot

The 54th Street Depot was located on Ninth Avenue, between 53rd Street, and 54th Street streets in Midtown Manhattan. It was originally the car barn of the Ninth Avenue Railroad. This depot was demolished, and is currently the Rapid Transit Division's Rail Command Control Center.

9304 was the last 9000 flx retired from yukon. at the time nycta was keeping buses at least 15 yeats. this order 9301-93-- did not last that long. and as someone who drove them they couldnt be retired fast enough. i trained on 9015 in 79. they had working ac when new. that was their only good feature.

Geez, buses today would be lucky if they could last beyond 15 years! When I saw those Flxible's at Gun Hill in the early '90's, they didn't last long from what I remember. The #8000's RTS's were displacing them rather quickly. Just for the record, when was #9304 retired from Yukon? Had to be before the Orion V's showed up down there, I would think.